How Their Feelings Grew
by advisory177
Summary: Our favorite pair sits down and discusses their relationship. Along the way they reveal how their feelings for each other were, and how through various events their mutual affection grew. HUMOR piece too. READ authors note for my opinions please! review!
1. Chapter 1

Before anyone says anything, this post was written with my ideas and intentions, and even if you don't agree with what is written, please bear with me. **Please check bottom for author note as well, as it (along with this fic) explains my views on what the movie is trying to communicate regarding the romance. **

I don't own this movie's contents.

It has been a week since Hiccup the Useless turned into Hiccup the Useful. Ever since he first trotted into the village of Berk with his new leg and dragon by side, he began to notice his whole world changing.

First of all, he was constantly busy. While he was knocked out, his fellow classmates handled most of the dragon integration. But even so, he was the expert when it came to all Dragon related affairs, and he began spreading his awareness all around the village. He taught everyone how to deal with dragons, how to talk to dragons, and how to tolerate them. He began sketching up plans with Gobber and hatching ideas with his father regarding all the things they could do with their new found allies. The dragons' immense strength, flying capabilities and combat prowess would be valuable tools for the future. And such rowdy monsters would be a terrible hassle to maintain peacefully, something Hiccup also had to work on.

It was in one of his more peaceful moments in the forge, when he was writing out a fire extinguishing plan involving the use of the dragons' flight abilities when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it, and the smiling face of Astrid caused his eyes to widen and his cheeks to have a slight tint.

"Got a minute?"

"Um..uh…yeah, sure! Lemme just... umm… tend to the fire for a second." Hiccup turned around and cursed his lack of articulation, as he began the task. He heard Astrid walk outside the forge, presumably to wait.

Three times. They had kissed three times so far. Once in front of everyone in the whole village, after he recovered. Once 2 days later, during his rest time after working hard on calming down some of the more jumpy dragons. And once just yesterday, when him and the group landed after they went for a ride around Berk, and she said it reminded her of the first time he took her flying.

Hiccup was pretty sure it was going to happen again. The village had seen them the first time, and his father had promised that when everyone was less busy he was going to give him a certain 'talk' (Hiccup shuddered at the thought). It meant Astrid was not afraid to kiss him anywhere or near anyone, which was a very nerve wracking thought. She wouldn't do it if they were ever on a mission or some important kind of job, but she showed she was quite capable of kissing him otherwise. But today wasn't about kissing.

Well, maybe he would kiss her a bit, but today had a different purpose. He needed to speak to her, and he had to get something straight. What exactly was going on in her mind about this whole thing? What did she see Hiccup as? Where… were they? Hiccup had no experience with relationships, and in his opinion this one was moving faster than any before it (oh, naïve our little hero is). He was expecting that by talking to her, he would find her in an awkward spot, confessing how she was less enamored by this situation than he was. But he didn't care; it was imperative that the discussion happened either way.

As he stepped out, he told Toothless, who was waiting patiently outside for him to finish for the day, that he would take just a minute to return. The dragon grunted acknowledgement, and curled up on top of the building, deciding to continue his waiting.

As he stepped of, little did Hiccup know, the discussion would turn in the opposite direction from what he would have imagined.

/

"Is Toothless as energetic as ever?" Astrid asked, throwing a rock across a lake and watching it skip.

"The way he naps, I'd think not… but the way he pounces on me, and even my dad sometimes, makes me realize he probably is." Hiccup also threw a rock and hung his head in shame as it fell straight into the water. Astrid laughed and put her hand on his shoulder rubbing it soothingly.

"Well, with you around, I'm sure he'll act as happy as ever." Hiccup smiled and looked up, only to see her gazing intently at him, a smirk on her lips. Hiccup felt the same intense heartbeat and throat dryness he had felt a couple of times before, and watched her eyelids lower and felt her hand push him towards her. But suddenly he remembered his plan.

"H…hold on for a sec…" Hiccup sputtered, finding that stopping a kiss was harder than he anticipated.

"What? Why?" Astrid raised an eye brow and frowned slightly. She glanced down, wondering if he was sitting uncomfortably and wanted a better position. But she found he was leaning backwards. She looked at him, curiously.

"I just thought that we needed to t- I mean, I wanted to ask you something". Hiccup quickly corrected himself, not wanting to use a dreaded phrase.

"Well, what? Spit it out." Astrid was upset to have been stopped, and even more frustrated that he now didn't say anything.

"I… I just… I wanted to know if…where we… um." Astrid rolled her eyes, getting close to gritting her teeth.

"Astrid… are we like… just friends?" Astrid blinked at first, taking a second to process the unexpected question. She decided to give a rather Hiccup-like answer.

"Oh yeah, of course. That's what I do; swap spit with every other 'friend' I see down the road."

"No! Odin, that's not what I meant-" Spat out an embarrassed boy.

"Then WHAT? What is this all about?"

Hiccup sighed and explained to her that he was simply unsure of where their relationship stood, and wanted to know what their future was. He explained that we was wondering if she was his girlfriend. But as he looked at her, he remembered one thing his father used to say… "_You can't always get something by checking if you have it. It's better to actually take it for yourself. So Gobber, for the last time, if you want that hauling cart so badly, then ju-"_ okay, Hiccup remembered that one too far.

"What are you smiling about?" Astrid asked, confused at this suddenly pause followed with his smile. She had been quiet so far, and looked patient.

"Nothing. What I'm trying to say is, I was wondering… no, thinking that, no…Astrid, I would… really like it if you would… sorta be my girlfriend?" Hiccup regretted it as soon as he said it, when he watched her eyebrows shoot up.

Damn, why didn't he ever realize? For her, a couple of kisses here and there wouldn't be binding at all! It must just be a random thing… He should have thought of her feelings more! But as Hiccup looked away and took a couple of breaths to calm himself, he kept thinking "you did the right thing!". If this little fling has no future, then… he was correct, right?

"Well… Hiccup…" Hiccup gulped at hearing Astrid's uncomfortable voice. Today was going to be another one of those sad days, eh? And just when everything was going his way…

"Are you sure? I mean, I've never been anyone's girlfriend before…" Hiccup's eyes snapped open, as he looked at her. Never?

"I mean, like… um." It was Astrid's turn to sputter now. Sputter and blush. "I… I think I might mess up or… are you sure it's what you want? I mean, I can be sorta… impulsive, and violent and-"

"Demanding?" Hiccup offered, only to receive a well earned glare. But Hiccup was relieved, as he found he wasn't the only nervous one here.

"Astrid, I'm new to this too! I'm no more an expert than you are. But I know that... that I want this to happen. With us. Together." Hiccup found that Astrid's blush returned, and he was pretty sure he felt his own face heat up too. "I've known I felt this way. Ever since you kissed me when I woke up, I knew that I wanted this to happen."

And that's when things suddenly got crazy.

"Wait… only ever since I kissed you?"

"Um… yeah? Wasn't it the same for you?"

"Think about what you just said." Astrid replied, her mouth forming a stern line. "I only wanted to be with you after I kissed you. AFTER I KISSED YOU. Really, hiccup?"

"Oh..OH! The reason you kissed me was because-"

"Seriously?" Astrid snapped at him. "You never felt anything for me before? What about all those times over the years when you just walked up, said something stupid, and did it out of nowhere? Don't try being all high and mighty by saying you've forgotten all about it!"

"No! No! I didn't forget! It's just… well…"

"Hiccup, I have the questions to ask now. What exactly have you been feeling for me, and how have those feelings changed exactly?"

"Oh…okay." Hiccup sighed. "Well, I think I liked you for a really long time, I guess. I mean, you were always so strong and confident and… um, pretty." Hiccup looked away to hide his blush. "And I just admired you, so much. You had everything a proper Viking should have, and I just really wanted to be able to talk to you, be able to be part of that world, you know? I kept looking at you and thinking 'She's just amazing!'".

"Okay…" Astrid began, slowly. "But then, why didn't you ever… I mean, not that you should have, but why didn't you ever try to do something about it?"

"Like what?" Hiccup looked at her incredulously. "Ask you out?"

"No!" Astrid replied. "You never… I dunno, I mean those other guys always hung around me and kept saying stuff and kept trying to praise me. Not that I cared so much, but you were the only one who never did. Why didn't you?"

"…" Hiccup took a few seconds of silence. "Because that isn't what I really wanted. Astrid, I wanted to be one of you. I wanted to be someone at your level, who you could look to as an equal. I wanted to be able to talk to you and get a response. I guess I would try at times to start a conversation with you to feel that, but I wasn't willing to just follow you around like a little puppy. I guess… even though I sorta really wanted a girlfriend, that isn't how I wanted to get one. I wanted to prove myself."

"I respect that, Hiccup" Astrid began, "but I thought you said you liked me, back then? Right?"

"Well, yeah, I did like you. I mean, I was always taking glances at you here and there and got excited when I thought you might talk to me."

"How come then, after you starting winning at Dragon training, you never tried getting my attention then? Now that you were finally 'at my level'?"

"I guess it's because… everything started going crazy then." Hiccup replied. "I thought I wanted to kill dragons, be a great Viking, go on dates… I thought that was all I could want to be happy. But like us with dragons, everything I knew about myself was wrong. In reality, I just wanted to be accepted and liked. And Toothless made me feel that… more than anyone."

"But that doesn't answer my question." Astrid began to lose her patience. "When you began winning all the dragon training stuff, you never seemed to care about all the attention you got. I didn't care about my attention, because I was just focused on being the best. But you, you didn't even care about that for yourself! When people praised you, you just looked away and ran as fast as you could."

"Because… they were treating me like I was a genius 'Dragon Killer'. I was getting fame for all the wrong reasons, for stuff I didn't believe in anymore. I didn't need that stuff, to be honest. What I thought would make all the difference, just didn't matter. The reason I tried all those unique things during dragon training was to get to learn more about dragons, and see if I was right in what I thought." Hiccup sighed, reliving the difficult time he had to suffer during that period of his life.

"The reason I never tried talking to you more, Astrid, was because… well, I honestly wasn't thinking about it. I had to train my dragon… I was exploring this new world out of nowhere. So much was happening for me, that I just wasn't thinking about…"

"Me." Astrid finished for him. "You weren't thinking about me. And who could blame you? Since you didn't really like me then." Astrid looked away.

"What?" Hiccup was alarmed. "But I just said-"

"No, Hiccup" Astrid stopped him. "You admired me. You looked up to me, and you respected me. And I guess you thought I was pretty." Hiccup considered throwing in 'really pretty' in hopes to better the situation. It was getting a little tense.

"But you didn't LIKE me. You didn't really have feelings for me, then. It was just like every other guy… they wanted a date here and there and would talk to me when I was nearby, but when it came down to it, I wasn't really on their minds. And that's okay, of course, but… I imagined it was different with you."

"But it is different, Astrid!" Hiccup began panicking. "I really, _really, really _like you! Not just because of your-"

"But only after I kissed you, Hiccup." Astrid spoke, her voice getting duller. "I remember when we rode on Toothless, when I talked to you after your dad set sail, when we took of on our own dragons to save everyone… You didn't really, um, treat me like you liked me. I mean, I kept looking at you with all this… I dunno, admiration I guess. I remember when Ruffnut said that… line to you."

"What, the 'I'm crazy, I like you'?"

"No! The 'you're crazy, I like that'!" Both teens suddenly laughed a little, a great change in pace.

"Hiccup, I guess I just liked imagining we had our own mutual romance thing going on the whole adventure. But for some parts, it felt like I was the one pulling the reigns. It felt like I was the last thing on your mind." Astrid trailed off, looking a little duller than usual.

Hiccup took a couple of deep breaths, thinking best how to speak and address the issue.

"Astrid, I had the biggest secret in all of Berk resting on my shoulders. I had the biggest struggle, of having to kill a dragon in dragon training. And then I had to fight to bring back my best friend. I had so much going on… so much to think about. My mind was going crazy, and I just didn't have time for anything else… especially not romance. You were right to notice that I wasn't exactly showing interest in you, but that was just because of everything else going on."

Hiccup remembered something his dad told him. _If a woman is getting mad at you, tell her where she's right._

"But… I did have moments where I was seriously thinking about you. Remember when you kissed me on the cheek?"

Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Again with the kissing? So to get you to feel something, we need to get physical? Jeez, all guys really are the same!"

"No, no!" Hiccup mentally face palmed. "When you, when you of all people kissed me on the cheek, I just about lost all my composure. I never imagined you would have. Then I realized what you just did for me; you trusted me. You agreed to keep my secret. You agreed to open your mind, and listen to me. For the first time, someone accepted me. That… that felt amazing, Astrid. I realized all of that at once, when you kissed my cheek. But I couldn't just dwell on that! I had a problem to face. That's why the next morning, I was so focused on the challenge ahead. Because I had other stuff to deal with."

Astrid was silent now, looking at him intently. It felt so… relieving to hear those words.

"When we had our first kiss, I was just so… touched. I realized how much you did for me. You picked me up when I lost all hope, you helped me convince the others to use the dragons, you guided me all the way along. I was going through such a struggle, and you were there. It made me… really happy. I needed the kiss to see it happening… I also needed all my problems to finally end, but I felt so much for you. Honestly, I did."

Astrid smiled at him, and she believed him. She reached out to hold his hand, a gesture he gladly accepted.

"I guess it was different for me." Astrid explained. "I guess, I'm not being so fair to you either. Afterall, I didn't exactly love you before all this happened either."

Hiccup laughed.

"From the lack of acknowledgement to the disappointed glances, I could never tell."

Astrid did not laugh.

"Look Hiccup, I was like that with everyone. Only one thing mattered; being the best. Being as strong as I could be. Even the other good dragon fighters or anyone else wouldn't grab my attention; I didn't care about them. When you tried talking to me or bringing up conversation, you were either getting in my way or saying something unnecessary, you know? I never hated you or anything, Hiccup. I mean it was annoying when you messed up, when you kept going about your inventions, when you kept blowing stuff up, and I guess you really _were_ annoying."

"Thank you for sum-"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Astrid cut him off, not wanting to hear any more of his sarcasm.

"But you were always trying, Hiccup. You wanted to be a Viking. So I let you be. But then, stuff changed. You didn't care anymore about dragon killing or fighting… you weren't focused during training and kept asking about Night Furies. It was so weird. Then you got in my way during training; that's when I snapped. That's when I thought you were just trying to piss me off."

Hiccup gulped. Her words that day made him realize something; he had to decide what he was going to do with Toothless.

"But then… you started doing these crazy things. Without any kind of weapons, you just took down any dragon in your path. It was so crazy, I couldn't believe it. But even worse was how it happened out of nowhere, and you didn't seem to care either way. You never felt happy or excited, you didn't care. You just wanted to get out of there as soon as you could, to go focus on other stuff. That was so… annoying! Getting beaten by someone who doesn't even care. It was the worst!"

Astrid stopped, to take a breath.

"I started watching you. Wondering what was going on. Waiting for you to gloat. But you never did. You never rubbed it in my face, you never got me back for what I said to you, and you never… hit on me. For the first time I met a guy so different from every other Viking I knew. And even though I was really mad at you, I was also… really sorta intrigued."

Hiccup found himself smirking slightly, but quickly brought back his deadpan when she almost noticed.

"When you beat me in dragon training, I couldn't take it. I had to follow you… watch you, see what you were doing. I got so curious. I kept thinking about it when I slept. I remember how earlier on, you used to leave us early, like you didn't care about us. Like you could and would leave us whenever you wanted, cause we just didn't matter. And, I dunno… seeing someone who could walk away so casually was really… new for me. I couldn't stop thinking about you.

When I saw you with that dragon, I was scared. Terrified. But when you took me for that ride… after Toothless calmed down… you showed me such a new world. Something so terrifying and amazing. I remember grabbing on to you when we flew, and you didn't even flinch. You became so confident, so brave… you were a totally different guy. It was so… admirable. And when you looked at me and said that you wouldn't let anyone hurt Toothless, your determination just… blew me away. That's when I realized that I… um, started having those feelings for you. Cause you were so amazing, and yet… so different."

Astrid paused for breath, a little flushed. Hiccup was, as well.

"Wow… I just… wow."

"The rest was history, you can probably imagine. Helping you during your fight, watching you gather those dragons to save Toothless, and seeing you become a natural leader. It was all amazing to watch, and I felt a little flutter in my chest when I saw everything you managed to do. And when you fought that crazy dragon, I got so nervous. So damn nervous… I thought my heart was gonna explode. But the worst part was when I thought you died… oh god, Hiccup it felt so terrible!"

Hiccup felt her grasping her hand with intensity. His fingers were getting crushed.

"I was so glad… so damn glad when you were okay. I really thought I lost you! That's when I realized… just HOW much I felt for you. You were the brave, crazy, outstanding Viking who changed everything. What girl couldn't fall for that?"

Hiccup smiled, warmly.

"You became such an exceptional person, right in front of me. I'm sorry I never recognized you before this, but now I really do mean it when I say I do. I would… love to be your girlfriend!"

Hiccup grinned, realizing how far off their talk had gone.

"And I'm sorry I didn't really get to note how amazing you were until you kissed me twice, and that my feelings were shallow in the beginning. Now I promise they're real, and I'm glad to be your boyfriend.

As Hiccup watched Astrid lean forward, he realized that today was going to be quite a bit about kissing indeed.

/

_At the forge. _

A very lonely Toothless was waiting, upset his best friend had ditched him so thoroughly. _When he gets here… oh boy, he's gonna get it. _

/

AN: Thank you for reading! First, let me explain something.

**The below are my opinions, please read them if you please.**

I loved the romance in this movie, because, well, I only walked in after the first 20 minutes (traffic). Seeing how nonchalant Hiccup appeared to be about Astrid, and seeing how she really wasn't high on his priority list made me root for the romance. I'm so tired of seeing the same 'nerd tries hard and gets girl' thing. In this case, the nerd is off doing his own thing, and the girl fell for him because of that. I truly believe a character like Astrid would go for Hiccup just because he wasn't showing an over flattering amount of interest, and because he was fixed on his goals and ambitions instead. I think any girl would find that a turn on, especially a girl like Astrid who everyone goes normally goes crazy for.

When I saw the first 20 mintes of the movie, I realized Hiccup really did have a crush on her. BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS MINOR. When he first saw her, he said 'her job is so much cooler than mine…'

**Job. **He comments on her job. Not how he wants to date her or she's pretty, just job. It appears that he admires her strength primarily. When he mentions 'getting a date' he doesn't say 'With Astrid'. He doesn't seem to care if it's with Astrid or not, just wants a date. When I see a hot girl, I think 'man, I would love to take a girl out sometime'. Doesn't have to be that girl! She just makes me think of it.

During dragon training, when he says 'so, I guess it's just us two' I think he's saying it because he finds himself standing next to a pretty girl and wants to say something. Astrid represented the pretty girl worth talking to, I'm not sure Hiccup was really in love with her or anything.

When he offers to share the book with her, it's the same deal; he is left alone with a pretty girl and he tries making conversation, hoping to spend time with her. That's the thing, not that he has the biggest crush or anything. She leaves him, and he sighs. Then he gets to reading. So quickly, he gets to reading, just moving on. I think he just wanted to be accepted and have some kind of friends. I think Astrid was just another person who didn't treat him like he was worth a damn, and I don't think he harbored any feelings for her that were all that deep.

During the later parts of the movie, he completely ignores her. Doesn't care that he's beating her, doesn't use his new status to talk to her, and when he finds himself giving her a ride on Toothless, all he can think about is his pet's welfare. He doesn't think about impressing her or romancing her, he just wants what's best for his friend. When she approaches him later on after Toothless has been taken, he barely glances at her. He doesn't seem to have her on his mind, there are more pressing issues.

The movie doesn't seem to hint that he's obsessed with her. It doesn't show him looking at her or trying to impress her all that much (just once at the intro). If anything, he only tries talking to her, which to be fair any straight guy would do with a girl as pretty as Astrid.

So, I conclude by saying the romance in this movie was beautiful because it wasn't so forced or because he wasn't obsessed with her, but because their mutual feelings came about because of the struggles they overcame together and the trust they ended up building. I bet if Astrid hadn't kissed Hiccup, he could have gone a while not even trying to romance her, but trying to fix the village instead. He's just that kind of guy.

ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ETC, PLEASE REVIEW. I PROBABLY WONT WRITE ANYMORE FOR THIS MOVIE.

BTW, notice that in the 16 minute movie sequel, Astrid and Hiccup have no romance moments? Funny decision. They are standing near each other a lot, but that's it. Comments?


	2. Musings on the success of the Romance

**Authors note: No story here, just my opinions about stuff that I would like if you read : )**

Thanks to any of you who may have read my first chapter, I really appreciate it. I understand that this kind of piece can be considered rather unusual; after all, I don't think many people enjoy breaking apart couples so much as bringing them together, ha ha. But truly, I believe what I wrote only makes the couple stronger than it would otherwise have been. In most movies, couples are brought together by various incidents. Some are traumatic experiences, like when two characters work hard to barely survive a difficult, continuously running struggle throughout the movie. They are then brought together by having gained the feelings together. Take _National Treasure_, or _Speed_.

By the way, I'm talking about non romance movies which have romantic elements in them. Romance movies use a number of techniques to make things work, but non romance movies are limited. There are some examples in which a weak guy falls for an amazing girl (sorta like Hiccup's position) and by doing various things on the side he ends up getting her. HTTYD is almost like that… but I believe that this kind of romance is weak. Why do I say so? Because the hero usually falls for the girl for the wrong reasons. Because she's pretty, popular etc all that garbage. No one seems to notice that this… doesn't really make for an interesting or enchanting story. Unless there is pure affection from both sides (for more reasons than just 'oh she's hot' or 'wow he's strong') then the relationship doesn't feel as convincing, in my humble opinion.

HTTYD did it right. While Hiccup did have a crush on her, the movie's lack of having him try to get her showed he changed his priorities. When he was about to kill Toothless, he was thinking 'fame…glory…acceptance…girlfriend'. But, for the sake of his humanity, he threw all of that away. He willingly gave up the idea of getting an instant girlfriend, finding something that to him was far more important. He realizes that society made it seem important, but it just isn't the top priority for him. Running away from people praising him, not really caring about adulation, not wanting to win dragon training… he grew as a character by being unique.

THUS his affection for Astrid was real. The movie didn't explicitly show it grow, but we can fill in the blanks. Astrid's affection was easy to follow; seeing just how amazing this guy was and how was ready to fight the Green Death charmed her considerably, and understandably. While technically Hiccup could have just followed Astrid's lead for the shallow reasons (pretty strong etc) I think the reason he did end up falling for her was more genuine. After all, the beginning of the story shows Hiccup is nothing if not a deep character who wants his own things, not just those that society expects him to want.

And that is why this romance in my opinion works so damn well. Character growth in both of them (Astrid realizing life is about more than just being strong), true feelings gained for each other by seeing all the things they had to offer, and the fact that the romance wasn't desperately yearned by either character but in fact a natural occurrence. The last part made it feel very honest.

I'm pretending to be a movie critic or a romance expert, but this is how I felt about the movie! Feel free to comment or call me an idiot, I'm just glad I got to write this all down!

**Thank you for reading : D**


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